


Nymph Hugs

by Yuni30



Series: Nymph Hugs [1]
Category: Ni no Kuni
Genre: Desperation, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-13
Updated: 2018-03-13
Packaged: 2019-03-30 16:54:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,233
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13955931
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yuni30/pseuds/Yuni30
Summary: Confronted with a problem beyond his control, he stresses to find a solution, only to find himself useless. Stressed and desperate to aid his friend, Swaine finds comfort in the last thing he expects.(This work can also be found as a drabble chapter for "Nymph Hugs" over on Fanfiction.net along with its sibling works.)





	Nymph Hugs

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Like A Brother](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/363333) by Wherever Girl. 



> Heyo! It’s Yuni! Been a bit since I last updated or posted anything on the site.
> 
> I decided to write about Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch. I decided to write about Swaine- I like Swaine. I felt bad for him when I ran into him in game. I played blindly so his introduction in the game came quite surprisingly. 
> 
> There are slight spoilers. I wondered what he did in the days he “wondered off” after the events involving Vileheart. 
> 
> This is actually inspired by Wherever Girl’s “Like a Brother” fic. 
> 
> Disclaimer: I only own a copy of the disk for the PS3.

He couldn't describe the despair he felt. He couldn't explain why he felt it either. It reminded him of when the three had gone to the past- the scene he had not experienced as a child. The scene that completely blindsided him and sent him into an abyss of grief for the next week after. Difference was, he knew deep down that there was at least a chance his friend could come back.

It wasn't much to go on…

In the boy's current comatose state, he might as well be dead. And if he didn't wake up soon…

The thief slammed his palm into the nearby hill, bracing himself against it as this grim realization hit him. Normally, there would be some sort of remedy to wake him… The rugged man opened his tired eyes, a hint of a smile of that small hopeful thought.

But they had tried everything. Reminding himself of this, his smile sank again, right along with his heart. It's not like the boy was "broken-hearted"… But then again, what would happen if more than one piece was missing? Who would repair him? How would they know what part to fix in his condition? The man clenched his fist, his gunslinging hand grabbing a fist full of grass, pulling a couple of blades out of the mountainside.

 _Maybe my brother…? Could he help him?_ The thief thought, his hands beginning to tremble from the sheer stress of it all. _Damn it all… Outside the fairy, I'm responsible for those two. I should be able to do something! Anything! Anything to help…_ He pushed himself away from the hill, but not far. He looked out to the valley that gave Autumnia its name.

He had come out here to think. In times of major stress such as this, he found it better to be alone. The thief was sure Esther had already called him out on his disappearance to the loudmouth fairy. She probably thought he didn't care- an all too wrong assumption. The ex-prince cared more than he let on. The truth is, being around the young wizard in his current state did nothing but remind him of his failure, which only stressed him more. That's why he was away from the inn. Swaine knew if he stuck around, tension would build, and his emotions would get the best of him. He tended to get rather stubborn and irrational in that state, which didn't help anyone.

There were many times where the thief was the last one standing. There wasn't enough time during _those_ types of fights to revive the other two. When the time came, the least heroic of the group was the one that pulled them through. He let a small chuckle escape him, thinking on it. The scrappy Dumbelemur turned Aye-Aye Sir, Vemahl, put up a good fight most of the time. To Swaine's chagrin, Oliver wanted to try something different with his team of familiars, putting Gunther into the retreat for safe keeping. Thinking more about it, he realized part of the reason he lasted so long in battle may have partially been because of Gemini, the Greater Naiad, and her well-timed evasion.

This was a different case altogether, though. This wasn't a fight against wild creatures. This wasn't the case of fighting on behalf of his friends. The pure-hearted one was in a state where even the distilled tears of a phoenix could wake him. The thief thought of asking his brother, but he had a feeling that he couldn't help and leaving to ask him would mean leaving alone, the Al Mamoon girl and Drippy looking after Oliver.

He knew that wasn't a good idea. He had a gut feeling that his younger brother wouldn't be able to help- having lived on the run as a common criminal helped develop a strong trust in his instincts.

He couldn't do anything, he realized. He couldn't return the favor when the time came. He couldn't help the boy that had saved him from a perilous life. He felt his strength leave him, his helplessness in the situation weighing him down. Feeling defeated, he sat down, leaning his back against the offended hill. He looked to the sky, a hand on one knee the other on the ground beside him.

A tear ran down the left side of his face- an action that shocked him. He hadn't cried since that night in Hamelin. He wiped the tear from his face, with the hand that was on the ground and stared at it. He closed his eyes, his body trembling. He felt alone.

There was a tug on his jacket sleeve. He opened his eyes and looked down to see the Greater Naiad in his regime of familiars. She didn't have her usual smile on her face, in fact, she looked rather concerned.

He sniffled. "Wh- What do you want," he whispered, his voice shaking. He didn't remember calling her to action nor did he feel her come out. He must have been pretty distracted.

She let the casting gem she held disappear into her and moved closer to him. The little sea nymph gripped his shirt in an attempt at a hug. Gemini's fluffy bauble gently rubbed his chin as she nuzzled his chest. Her cape and tendrils spread to compensate for her small size.

Swaine opened his mouth in shock, looking down at her attempt in comforting him. Nymphea wasn't a particular favorite genus of his, he recalled, but he also remembered using this particular nymph often in battle. He had unintentionally built a strong bond with her.

It reminded him of his brother, almost. There were times when they were kids that Marcassin would comfort him when he was troubled. _Kind of like this, actually_ , the ex-thief thought.

He felt his shirt dampen suddenly, causing him to look down. Gemini was crying for him, attempting to use a healing ability she had long since abandoned. Despite how odd it felt, he felt some of his frustration leave him. He didn't know if it was because of the ability- it shouldn't have worked considering that he wasn't wounded- or because he had something comforting in a such a trying time.

"You're right…," he muttered, petting the familiar. "There's nothing I can do." He was still frustrated and confused, but less of a mess. He stood up and wiped the tears from his eyes and took a second to look back out at the valley. His spirits were low still, but the worst of the emotional turmoil was over. _Going back there won't snap him out of it…_ He looked back at the still concerned Greater Naiad. _But crying over something I can't help? Ha! What good will that do?_

He threw a sad smirk Gemini's way and her smile quickly returned, her gem reappearing in her small stubby arms. "Thank you. Needed some relief, I did." He knelt down, stroking the feathery bauble on the nymph's cap. The nymph nodded and returned to his heart, a warm feeling washing over him briefly.

He sighed and put his hands on his hips, shaking his head. He still felt useless, he still felt frustrated. He still felt despair. But he had regained the strength of heart he had recently lost. "Familiars are still creatures with separate feelings from our own. Why do I forget that so easily?"

**Author's Note:**

> Before most of your familiars become your familiars, they are considered beasts. They have feelings, personalities, and histories before they join your team, much like the human members of your party. There’s a cave outside of Nazcaa that proves this because there’s a bunch of “friendly” beasts that you can go on unofficial quests for, including one of my favorite species line: the naiads. When you consider the way they act in the creature cage, even as familiars, they’re still partially separate when it comes to personality and mindset. 
> 
> Yeah. I switched out Swaine’s main one with the lemur. I was experimenting with his set up. He really likes using the nymph, though. It’s weird since Gem’s not in his “favorite” genus group… I tend to ignore the whole favorite type thing in the game sometimes, though I probably shouldn’t. Greater Naiad’s are evasive healer types with light magic attacks. I noticed that when I removed Gemini from his team, he seemed to faint more, so it makes me wonder if the ally AI selects the most strategically sound familiar at the time. (In the winter islands, Esther busted out Soliton, the Grandsun, because he had fire affinity.) Most of the time evading and healing is pretty sound strategy and it would explain why sometimes he’s the last up to bat. 
> 
> Outside game mechanics, considering how much he uses Gemini in my version of the game, I always wondered if there’s some sort of familiarity between him and the jellyfish. Maybe it reminds him of his brother. 
> 
> And yes… I do assign genders to my familiars. And now that I really think about it, outside of the undetermined gender of a few, most of my mains are male. I don’t know how that happened. 
> 
> This is a long author’s note… Might write another fanfic inspired by a movie I watched recently. Considering how the thief closes himself off, it makes me wonder if there are talents he neglected to mention outright. *Hint, hint*
> 
> Anyway. I’m done writing half a page for one lousy author’s note. No doubt you’ve clicked on another story by now. You’re probably bored of me talking. Bye.


End file.
